We'll Always Be There For Each Other
by Myra109
Summary: A collection of one shots (AUs). Most will be Ricky-centric, but not all of them. Warnings before chapters. They're the Harpers. They're family, and they'll always be there for each other, through thick and thin. Nothing in this world could ever tear them apart.
1. Of Nightmares And Man's Best Friend

_Hello, everyone! **Most** of these chapters will be Ricky-centric and will involve hurt/comfort, but not every chapter._

 _I have noticed a lack of Nicky, Ricky, Dicky, and Dawn stories on this website (and even the ones I have read don't involve many Ricky centric stories, and Ricky's my favorite character), so I decided to change that. Hope you like the story._

 ** _WARNINGS: NONE_**

* * *

 ** _***PART I: SEASON 1***_**

* * *

 **Summary:** When Ricky has a nightmare, he'll learn why people call a dog Man's Best friend. Or Ricky bonds with the Harpers' new dog late one night.

* * *

 **Chapter 1: Of Nightmares and Man's Best Friend**

 **EPISODE: PILOT**

* * *

"Dawn! Dicky! Nicky!" Ricky called, desperately.

He was standing in a landscape that was completely black. There was no other sign of life anywhere. Darkness suffocated him, and the world was so quiet, it unnerved him.

He was alone. Ricky hadn't been completely alone since… never. He'd never been utterly alone. Even in the womb, he'd had three others with him.

Where were his brothers and sister?

"D-Dawn!" Ricky stammered. His original fear was growing to unbearable levels. "Nicky! Dic-Dicky!"

"RICKY!"

"Dawn!"

At his sister's scream, Ricky began running through the dark land in search of her. She had to be here somewhere, and she sounded so scared. Ricky and Dawn almost never got along, but he didn't like to see her distressed, especially since Dawn was so rarely frightened by anything. She was always a leader, always brave, always ready for anything. The opposite of Ricky. Hearing her sound so afraid terrified Ricky.

"Dawn!" he shouted as he dashed through the black space, his feet hitting the freezing cold floor. He didn't know what this place was. It was an absolute kind of darkness. No tell tale shadows you may find in a dark room, no familiar sensations when his feet touched the ground. Even the wind didn't seem to blow. It was like there was no air in the world, but he could still breathe. It was a horrifying realization.

"RICKY!"

Ricky skidded to a halt. Dawn was no longer screaming, but now he was hearing the terrified voice of…

"Nicky?"

"RICKY! HELP!"

"Nicky!"

Ricky raced towards the direction of Nicky's voice, which was to the left of where Dawn's voice had been coming from.

Where were his siblings? What was happening to them? Why were they so scared?

Ricky had never been so afraid, and trust me, he'd been horrified, terrified, apprehensive, scared, and a bunch of other synonyms for _afraid_ plenty of times in his life. But when he was scared, he always had one of his siblings to comfort him (whether with words or simply with their presence).

"Nicky!" Ricky yelled. "Where are you?"

"RICKY!"

Ricky tripped and nearly fell as he forced himself to stop. Nicky and Dawn were silent, but now he was hearing the fearful voice of…

"Dicky!"

Ricky turned and ran towards the voice, but minutes later, he was forced to stop.

"RICKY!"

"Dawn?"

"RICKY!"

"Nicky!"

"RICKY!"

"Dicky, where are you?"

"RICKY!" all four of them screamed.

Ricky dropped to his knees and clamped his hands over his ears to prevent himself from hearing the terrified screeches of his brothers and sister.

"Ricky, help!"

"Why won't you help us?"

"Why did you leave us?"

"We wouldn't have left you!"

Ricky sobbed. "I'm sorry… I'm sorry… I'm sorry…"

He'd never felt so helpless, so powerless…

* * *

Rick sat bolt up in his bed, nearly smacking his head against the top bunk.

Ricky glanced around the dark room (it was dark, but at least he could see the outlines of the furniture and had some moonlight to see by), and he glanced from bed to bed.

Dawn was lying spread eagle in her own bed, her mouth wide open, loud snores sounding from her mouth. She was safe.

Dicky was lying face down on the top bunk, one of his arms hanging limply over the railing of the bunk. He was safe.

Ricky leaned off of his mattress and glanced at the top bunk.

Nicky was slumbering in his bed, loud breaths puffing between his lips. He was safe.

His siblings were safe and sound. It'd been a horrible nightmare. That was it. Nothing more, nothing less.

A soft whimper made him glance off the mattress, and before he could register what the shadow on the ground was, it leaped onto his bed.

It was the dog. Chip, as Ricky called him, although he was presently Chip/Gary/Tiny Elvis/Captain Squishy Paws.

"Hey, Chip," Ricky murmured.

Chip crawled onto Ricky's lap and laid his head on Ricky's thigh.

Ricky smiled and ran his fingers through the small dog's fur. The warmth of the dog on his lap and the small whimpers that sounded from him gave Ricky the comfort he'd been searching for.

Ricky smiled down at the pet. The memory and the fear of his nightmare were already fading from his mind.

"Thanks," he whispered to the dog.

The dog whimpered in return, as though trying to say _You're Welcome._

Ricky finally understood what people meant when they called a dog _Man's Best Friend._

* * *

 _A pretty short chapter and honestly not my favorite chapter, but I hope you still enjoyed it!_

 _Thank you for reading! Bye, readers! Please leave a review!_


	2. Of Phobias And Panic Attacks

_I forgot to mention this last chapter, but if you would like me to continue a chapter, write a spin off, or even make a separate story surrounding the idea that comes with that chapter (for example, a future chapter will involve one of the Quads getting diagnosed with an illness, so if you wanted me to write an individual story about their treatment and journey, that's an example), just PM me or review to give me your request, and I'll get back to you as soon as possible._

 ** _Disclaimer: I do not own the wonderful tv show that is Nicky, Ricky, Dicky, and Dawn._**

 ** _WARNINGS: PANIC ATTACK_**

 **Summary:** While in the vents with his siblings, Ricky feels like the walls are closing in and finds it very hard to breathe, which causes his siblings to freak out. Or Ricky is claustrophobic and has his first panic attack while stuck in the vents.

* * *

 **CHAPTER 2: Of Phobias and Panic Attacks**

 **EPISODE: DAWN MOVES OUT**

* * *

"Don't tell Ricky and Dicky I was up here." Nicky's voice echoed in the vents, and Ricky crawled closer to his voice.

His chest felt tight, and for some reason, his breathing was speeding up. Beads of sweat dripped down his forehead, even though it wasn't that hot in here.

"Tell me what?" Dicky's voice joined Nicky and Dawn's.

Dawn and Nicky screamed, startled, and Ricky could imagine the shocked expressions on their faces.

"What are you doing up here?" Dawn demanded.

"Uh, just looking for… Nicky! Found him. Oh, and… don't tell Ricky I was up here."

"Too late," Ricky said as he crawled around the corner, shining the flashlight on his brothers and sister, who shouted in fear.

"What do we have here?" Dawn mocked as Ricky army crawled over and joined them at the three way vent area (it branched off in three different directions, so Ricky called it a three way vent).

She frowned. "What do we have here?" she said as an actual question whether than a mocking statement.

"What we have is you heading in the direction of our room," Nicky answered.

Ricky coughed. It was getting really hard to breathe now. He felt nauseous, and his heart was pounding in his chest. Buckets of sweat were pouring down his skin, and he felt like he was standing in a hundred degree heat. It felt like boiling water was racing through his body directly below his skin.

"And you heading in the direction of mine," Dawn pointed out.

"Guys?" Ricky choked out.

As soon as he spoke, an argument broke out among his siblings, and they didn't hear him.

The walls were closing in on him. He was suffocating. The walls on either side of him were barely shoulder width apart, and he wasn't sure if he'd ever be able to wiggle his way out.

"Guys?" Ricky repeated.

Their argument continued.

"Guys!" Ricky said louder.

"What, Ricky?" Dawn asked, exasperated.

"I can't breathe…"

"What?" Nicky said, distressed.

"The walls… it's too small. I can't breathe! Get me out!"

None of Ricky's thoughts were making sense. The only two he could register were _get me out_ and _I can't breathe._ Both were horrifying.

"We have to get him out!" Dawn said, grabbing Ricky's wrist.

Nicky, Dicky, and Dawn crawled towards the closest exit (Dawn's direction) while Dawn dragged Ricky.

"Wait, we're not all going to fit!" she shouted.

It was too late. Their waists became stuck as the four tried to crawl through at once.

"Guys!" Dicky yelled, and Ricky's eyes widened as a toy train barreled towards them. At that speed, it could break a nose.

"Guys," Ricky whimpered.

"It'll be okay, Ricky," Dawn murmured, glancing at the three of them. "I missed you guys. I love you so much."

Dicky nodded. "We need you, Dawn. You, too, Ricky, so hang on a little longer, okay?"

Ricky nodded, gasping for air.

What was this? Asthma? But why were the walls closing in? Was he dying? The way his heart was beating… was it a heart attack? He wasn't sure what this was.

The train halted in front of the four of them.

"That was close," Nicky muttered.

As if waiting for an excuse to grant them more bad luck, the vent creaked before the metal snapped, spilling the quadruplets out of the ceiling and onto the floor of the boys' room.

Ricky coughed as dust forced itself into his lungs, and he sat up.

Out of the vents, the panic was fading. His heart rate was slowing down. The nausea was still present, but it was less severe. The heat was draining from his body, leaving him feeling cool and much more relaxed. Best of all, he could finally breathe.

"Are you okay, Ricky?" Dawn asked as she stood.

Ricky nodded. "I think so."

"What happened?" Anne asked as her and her husband entered the room. "My babies!"

"My babies!" Tom echoed, but he was focused on his broken train. "Speak to me! I think I can, I think I can-"

"Not the time, Tom! Our children just fell out of the ceiling, and I thought you were donating those to the trainless?"

"Uh… not the time, Anne! Our children just fell out of the ceiling!" Tom said. "What were you doing up there… and why did you take my trains up there with you?"

"It's a long story," Dawn said. "But Mom, Ricky… something happened to Ricky."

"What?" Anne demanded.

Ricky rattled off an explanation of what he felt in the vent, both physically and emotionally.

"Honey…" Anne murmured. "I think you had a panic attack."

"The walls were closing in?" Tom said. "Maybe you're claustrophobic," he suggested.

Ricky nodded. "I… maybe," he said, still disoriented from his episode/panic attack.

Nobody forced him to talk about it. His siblings simply hugged him without a word, and his parents joined the embrace. The last of the fear left Ricky as the embrace forced it out.

He had never been so grateful for his loving family as he did in that moment.

* * *

 _Thanks for reading! Please leave a review! Goodbye, everyone!_


	3. Of Concussions And Amnesia

_I also want to point out that this story is a collection of one shots, so the chapters do not all take place in the same universe. For example, chapter 5 may happen in a universe where chapter 3 doesn't happen or vice versa, so unless I specifically tell you two chapters happen in the same universe or a chapter references another chapter, you can decide whether it happened in the same universe as the other chapters or stands on its own._

 _Anyway, enjoy the chapter!_

 ** _Disclaimer: I do not own the tv show called Nicky, Ricky, Dicky, and Dawn._**

 ** _WARNINGS: NONE_**

 **Summary:** During the crazy softball fiasco at Get Sporty-er, Ricky gets hit in the head by one of the balls and winds up with amnesia. Will his memory return?

* * *

 **CHAPTER 3: OF CONCUSSIONS AND AMNESIA**

 **EPISODE: GET SPORTY-ER**

* * *

When Ricky came around, he felt like someone had wacked him upside the head with a baseball bat.

"He's coming around," a male voice stated, and an older man leaned over him. The top of his head was bald, and there were tufts of gray hair stuck to the sides of his skull, right around his ears. He was pale and was wearing a button up, plaid shirt and kakis.

"Ricky, how are you feeling?" a female voice asked, and a young girl- no older than ten- leaned over him. She was thin and had the same pale completion as the man. Her brown hair was long, trailing over her shoulders and whispering against the white blanket covering Ricky's lap. Her blue eyes met his, and she looked so familiar, but he couldn't place her in his memories. The more Ricky thought about it, the more he realized… he didn't remember anything. It was all a blank slate.

"My head hurts," he muttered, reaching up a hand to touch his forehead. His fingers grazed a bandage.

"That's expected," another voice joined in the conversation, and Ricky glanced at a boy around ten. He was scrawny with short, sleek black hair. His eyes were brown, and he had the aura of someone who knew what to do (whether he was right or not), but he also had the aura of someone who was never listened to. "You got hit in the head by one of those crazy baseballs."

"Oh…" Ricky murmured. "Just one question."

"Yeah, honey?" a woman question as she knelt over him. She had curly blonde hair and pale skin that possessed the pink tinge of make up. Her eyes were blue, like the young girl's, but a lighter shade. A purse swung from her arm.

"Who are you people?"

The room seemed to freeze. The woman stopped moving completely. She was so stunned, she didn't even exhibit any symptoms of shock. She was simply frozen. The young girl's eyes widened, and she glanced towards the two boys (Ricky noticed that another ten year old male stood beside the first. He was tan with brown, wind swept hair. He had the aura of a cool person, and even if he didn't, the sun glasses, his clothes, and his hair were dead giveaways regarding his cool status), who were both staring at Ricky in astonishment. The man placed a hand on Ricky's shoulder and gazed at Ricky, too stunned to speak.

"Ricky… I'm your sister. Dawn?" the young girl answered.

Ricky blinked. "If you're my sister, does that mean you're my mom and dad?" he asked, pointing at the adult woman and the man, who both nodded.

Ricky turned to the boys. "If she's my sister… are you my brothers? But you all look the same age!"

The black haired boy nodded. "We are. The four of us are quadruplets. That's Dawn. The one with the sunglasses is Dicky. I'm Nicky. And you're Ricky. We're The Harper Quads."

Ricky blinked. "Quads. That's got a nice ring to it. I like it."

"You and Dawn came up with it," Dicky supplied.

"I'm going to go speak with the doctor," the man- his dad- whispered to his mom before exiting the room.

Ricky frowned, and he could only wonder why Dawn, Nicky, and Dicky had tears in their eyes, and why his mom was wiping her own eyes.

What were they crying about?

* * *

Two days after being admitted, Ricky was allowed to leave the hospital. According to the doctor, Ricky had a concussion and amnesia. The concussion explained Ricky's dizziness and his confusion, and the doctor said the concussion was mild and would be fixed within a few weeks. The amnesia, on the other hand… that was more tricky.

The doctor instructed Ricky's dad (Ricky was supposed to be sleeping at the time, but he was faking it) to surround Ricky with familiar things and people and places. Ricky's dad asked if they could do anything else, and the doctor replied, saying that memory loss is a tricky thing, and they had to treat Ricky normally and hope for his memory's quick return.

His father drove Ricky home, and Ricky gazed at the house they pulled up to. It was a nice house, but he didn't remember living there.

"Remember anything?" his father asked.

Ricky shook his head. "No. Sorry."

His father smiled. "It's okay. Let's go inside and meet the others."

Ricky got out of the car and walked up to the front door. Taking a deep breath, he turned the knob and opened it.

Nicky, Dicky, and Dawn were sitting on the couch- Ricky and Dicky on the cushions, Dawn balanced on the arm. His mother was standing, and a dark skinned girl he didn't recognize was sitting in the arm chair. She had dark hair and was wearing a dress.

"Woof!"

Ricky jumped as a tiny dog raced over to him, and leaped back to stand on its hind kegs. Its front paws hit Ricky's pants, and he knelt to the floor to pet the dog.

"Do you remember him?' Dawn asked, her voice ringing with hope.

Ricky shook his head. "No. He's a cute dog, though. What's his name?"

"Squishy paws," Nicky replied.

Ricky laughed. "I thought he looked more like a Chip."

Dicky chuckled. "That's what you said the first time."

"I'm Mae," the dark skinned girl spoke up. "Do you remember me at all?"

Ricky shook his head. "You all look so familiar, but it's like the memory isn't making it to the front of my brain. Almost like trying to remember your toddler years. You can do it, but it's hard."

Dawn nodded. "Come on. We'll take you to your room."

* * *

"We share the room," Nicky said as they walked into the bedroom.

Ricky was immediately attracted to the bunk nearest to the door. He wasn't sure how he knew it was his, but he thought recognizing the bed as a victory.

"Am I.. bottom bunk or top?" Ricky asked.

"Bottom," Nicky answered. "I'm top. Dicky sleeps in the other bunk bed, and Dawn is across the hall."

Ricky nodded.

He picked up a teddy bear lying on his bed and stared at it.

It was all so familiar and yet so foreign to him.

* * *

The next day, Dawn, Nicky, and Dicky took Ricky to their dad's store.

The girl behind the counter of a juice/smoothie bar glanced up as they approached her.

"How are you doing, Ricky? Heard you took a hard hit to the head."

Ricky nodded, but he didn't know the girl (or at least didn't remember her), so he didn't say anything else.

"He still can't remember," Dawn explained.

The girl nodded. "I'm Josie."

Ricky nodded. "Okay."

"Anything coming back?" Dawn asked.

Ricky sighed. Everything was so familiar. A memory just out of reach. He was so confused, and his head was jumbled like a jigsaw puzzle fresh out of the box. In the beginning, you don't think you'll ever be able to put it together, and it's so frustrating when you sit there for hours, staring at the pieces but not knowing how they fit together.

"No," Ricky whispered. "I'm sorry."

Ricky glanced around at the disappointed expressions before turning on his heel and running out of the store.

Their disappointment and his own confusion were too much for him to handle right now.

* * *

Two weeks passed. Ricky still didn't remember anything. They'd tried everything they could think of- photographs, trips around town, home videos, surrounding Ricky with anything and everything that might trigger even the smallest sliver of a memory to return.

Nothing worked.

"I'm the oldest," Dawn was saying when he walked into the kitchen one Saturday morning. "I should get to decide what we make for breakfast."

"Where is the logic in that?" Nicky stressed.

"I'm the oldest," Dawn repeated, as though that were the most logical argument ever.

The statement slipped out of Ricky's lips before he could comprehend it.

"By four seconds!"

Everything seemed to stop. The three others turned towards Ricky, who simply blinked.

"Ricky," Dawn began.

Ricky knew where she was going with this. He still didn't remember anything. He didn't know why he'd said what he had.

"I'm going to go lay down."

Ricky ran up the stairs and collapsed onto his bed. The room was spinning around him. He felt so overwhelmed by confusion.

Ricky sighed before allowing himself to drift off to sleep. Maybe things would make more sense when he woke up.

* * *

"I still can't believe she's pulling that _I'm the oldest card_ again. She's been doing that since we were born."

Ricky sat up and found himself staring at… himself.

"Who are you?" Ricky demanded.

"Your memory," his counterpart replied.

"Where have you been?" Ricky asked, harshly. "It's been over two weeks! I've been looking everywhere for you!"

The boy shrugged. "When that ball hit us, I guess I got knocked loose or something. Kind of like being knocked out cold, but I was knocked out cold for two weeks. That's why your memory was a black void for two weeks. But I'm awake, and I'm back now!"

Ricky smiled. "Thank goodness. What are we waiting for? I need to remember."

His memory laughed before grabbing Ricky's hand.

* * *

Ricky's eyes opened, and he found himself lying in his bed.

How had he gotten there? The last thing he remembered was turning up the thermostat at Get Sporty-er, and the balls going berserk.

Right! He'd been hit in the head by a ball. His parents must have taken him home to help him sleep it off.

He felt much better, so Ricky rolled out of bed and headed for the stairs.

He found his siblings watching some awful cartoon on the couch.

"Come on, guys, you know I hate this show," Ricky complained as he sat beside them. "It's so unrealistic, and I could overlook that if it were actually funny."

His siblings froze, and Nicky hit the pause button.

"Wait… Ricky, what is the name Mom and Dad were going to name you, but couldn't think of three names to rhyme with it?" Dawn asked.

"Gary. Why?"

"He remembers!" Dicky shouted. "Mom, Dad, Ricky remembers!"

His parents raced into the room, and Ricky found himself swept into a family ground hug, and he was only released when they started to cut off his oxygen supply.

"What is going on?" Ricky asked, puzzled.

His family explained his accident and his amnesia to him, and Ricky was left shocked.

Ricky had known since birth that he would be nothing without his siblings. He was his own person, but he wouldn't be who he was without his siblings and his parents. He could only imagine what he was like when he couldn't remember them.

"I don't understand," he murmured as he enforced another hug. "How could I ever forget you guys?"

* * *

 _This is definitely one of my favorite chapters (I've only written the first 18 chapters so far, but out of those 18, this is one of my favorites). Oh, and the Ricky regaining his memory scene was inspired by the scene in Full House: Michelle Rides Again (Season 8-and series- finale)._

 _Thanks for reading! Please leave a review!_


	4. Of Zombies And Misunderstandings

_Hello, everyone! Hope you like it!_

 ** _Disclaimer: I own nothing._**

 ** _WARNINGS: NONE_**

 **Summary:** What happened during Ricky's conversation with his parents when they dragged him into the kitchen in the episode Field Of Brains?

* * *

 **CHAPTER 4: OF ZOMBIES AND MISUNDERSTANDINGS**

 **EPISODE: FIELD OF BRAINS**

* * *

Ricky screamed as he was dragged back into the kitchen by his sweater vest. His brothers and sister continued to run into the living room, and Ricky reached for them.

"Ricky!" Dawn yelled. "Guys, should we go back-"

She abruptly stopped speaking, and silence reigned, so Ricky knew his brothers were already out the front door.

"Sorry, Ricky!" Dawn shouted, and Ricky heard the front door slam behind her.

Thanks, guys, he thought, sarcastically. Then again, if he were being faced by brain eating zombies, he'd probably leave them, too. Or maybe he wouldn't. After all, Ricky had said it before, and he would say it again: he didn't know who he'd be without his siblings.

"Don't eat my brains!" Ricky begged as he covered his head.

A few beats of silence passed, and he peaked between his arms to see his mother and father staring at him with raised eyebrows. Neither of them were moaning or groaning or stumbling around with outstretched arms like the zombies in Field of Brains.

"Why aren't you eating my brains?" Ricky asked, weakly.

"Because we're not zombies," his father answered.

"And we told you four not to watch that movie!" his mother admonished.

Ricky smiled, sheepishly. "Sorry… but wait. If you're not zombies, why were you moaning and walking like them?"

"We were having a muscle contest," his father answered, flexing his muscles with a grunt, and Ricky watched as his mother did the same.

"You can stop now," Ricky said after watching that torturous sight for a few moments. "Why were you digging holes?"

"We were trying to live the survival life," his father said, giving the last two words a hint of pride. "We were digging holes to use as bathrooms."

"I don't know why you sound so proud," Ricky said, wrinkling his nose in disgust. "No one should be proud of that."

His parents shrugged, seeing his point.

"But why did you come in here muttering _brains! Brains!?_ " Ricky askes, imitating what they sounded like.

"I was muttering sprain," his mother corrected. "I tripped in your father's hole and sprinted my ankle," she explained, rubbing her sore ankle.

"And I was muttering pain because I bit my tongue," his father stated.

"What about the lights?" Ricky questioned.

"Your father hit a power line when we were digging our holes," his mother responded.

Ricky blinked. "Oh…"

His father nodded. "Oh… is right. We're not zombies, but you four are still in danger."

"Of what?" Ricky asked.

"Punishment!" his mother answered. "We told you four not to watch that movie, and you deliberately disobeyed us."

Ricky sighed. "We're sorry, but we just wanted to be like the big kids for once."

His mom smiled and ruffled his blonde hair. "You're not a big kid yet, but you will be someday. Right now, just cherish being a little kid because trust me, one day you're going to look back and wish you were this age again."

Ricky smiled. "Thanks, Mom."

"I'm glad you learned a valuable lesson today, but you're still in trouble," his dad clarified. "Let's go get your brothers and sister, and we'll decide on your punishments."

Ricky sighed. "All right. The store is their safe place, so let's go."

"That's why you're my favorite," his mom murmured.

"Mine, too," his father stated, "but don't tell the others."

Ricky nodded. "I promise."

* * *

 _A shorter chapter, but *shrugs* oh, well. Some chapters will be longer, and others will be shorter._


	5. Of Scapegoats And Remotes

_I could not find episode five, so I skipped it. This is the episode 6 instead of episode 5._

 ** _Disclaimer: I own nothing._**

 **Summary:** What if Ricky had been the good kid that day? What if his siblings had tried to frame him? Will everything turn out okay for Ricky?

* * *

 **CHAPTER 5: OF SCAPEGOATS AND REMOTES**

 **EPISODE: REMOTE CONTROL CONTROL**

* * *

Ricky blinked as his siblings battled over the tablet Dad had named Clicky. Dawn was wrestling with Dicky, and he could see the actual television remote in Nicky's pants as he watched them argue over Dad's prized possession.

Perhaps he should tell Dicky and Dawn that Nicky had the remote…

No. If Ricky got involved, the probability that he would get in trouble right alongside his brothers and sister shot up. Ricky didn't want to lose his television privileges or his status as the _good child._

Ricky slowly closed the panels in the arch way of the kitchen and turned his back on the argument.

Ricky pulled a tray out of the cabinet and placed it on the table. After that, he reached for the handle on the refrigerator and grabbed things to make his parents' favorite breakfast- waffles, fruit, yogurt (ice cream for Dad, but don't tell their mom he eats ice cream for breakfast), and toast (with strawberry jam for Mom and butter for Dad). A cup of coffee for Dad and a cup of orange juice for Mom joined the food.

There was a sudden collective gasp from the living room, and Ricky frowned as he exited the kitchen.

"What happened?" he asked before his eyes landed on Clicky, soaked in water, which had obviously come from the tipped over glass, which still had water trickling onto the table.

"We are in so much trouble!" Nicky yelped.

"No!" Dawn said. "We can fix this!"

Dicky and Dawn began rapidly pushing buttons and arguing over whose fault it was.

"Maybe we should just tell Mom and Dad…" Ricky began, but when his siblings failed to listen to him, he muttered under his breath, "Ah, forget it."

Ricky returned to the kitchen and resumed making his parents breakfast.

* * *

"Ricky, we need your opinion," Dawn said, walking into the kitchen. "What do we do?"

"Tell Mom and Dad," Ricky said. "Maybe if you tell them the truth instead of trying to hide it, along with helping to pay for a new Clicky, they'll ease up on the punishment."

"But they might take away our TV privileges!" Dicky groaned.

Ricky nodded. "Well, you did fight when they specifically told you not to."

"This wouldn't be as big a problem if we could find the remote," Dawn mumbled.

"Did you ever think to ask Nicky or me where it was?" Ricky questioned.

"Do you know where it is?" Dicky asked.

"Nicky's pocket. Now, once you get it, play rock, paper, scissors to see who gets it first!" Ricky exclaimed. "And don't fight with Nicky, or you'll lose your TV privileges either way."

"Rock, paper, scissors…" Dawn muttered. "Why didn't we think of that? Wait… Nicky had it this entire time? Nicky Marcus Harper!"

"I said don't fight with… ah, who am I kidding? They're already gone," Ricky mumbled as he heard the tell tale sounds of fighting in the next room.

The kitchen door burst open, and Nicky appeared.

"Why would you rat me out?" he demanded.

"It's your fault for hiding the remote," Ricky pointed out before Dicky and Dawn entered the room.

"Nicky-" Dawn began.

"Why are you even fighting now?" Ricky asked. "You're going to get punished anyway because of Clicky."

"He's right," Dawn admitted, "but Dad doesn't know and can't prove who broke Clicky…" she muttered before her eyes landed on Nicky, making her plan obvious.

Dicky and Dawn bolted for the stairs, Nicky on their heels, and Ricky followed them at a slower pace.

"Here we go," he murmured before ascending the stairs.

"Kids, I thought we said don't disturb us," Dad snapped.

"But Ricky stole the remote!" Nicky yelled, making Ricky scowl. He should've known they would try to frame him.

"And broke Clicky," Dawn added.

"And he was going to pin it all on us," Dicky finished.

"Ricky, is this true?" Mom asked in surprise.

Ricky glanced at his siblings, who were waiting for him to defend himself.

If he'd told Dicky and Dawn about hiding the remote in the first place, this all could have been avoided, but he'd selfishly waited for his siblings to ruin their TV time and leave the remote to him while they were punished. Not to mention he'd told on Nicky, which made it worse, and they all found a common enemy: Ricky. Dicky and Dawn, for not telling them about Nicky's plan in the first place, and Nicky, for telling them about his plan.

He should have seen this coming.

Ricky's mind flashed back to the time Dawn took the fall for him when he broke their mom's favorite vase. Dicky stepped up and took the punishment when Ricky accidentally tore their father's old ice skating outfit. Nicky took the blame when Ricky blew up their living room (don't ask).

Siblings sometimes take the fall for each other. His brother and sister had done it for him at one time or another. Maybe it was his turn.

"Yes," Ricky replied, causing his siblings to jolt in surprise.

"All right, Ricky, no TV for two months," Dad sais, firmly. "One for trying to get your siblings in trouble and one for breaking Clicky. Go."

The quadruplets exited the room, and Dawn grabbed Ricky's arm before he could walk away.

"Ricky, why didn't you defend yourself?" she asked.

He shrugged. "Siblings take the fall for each other. As hard as it is to lose my TV time, you've taken the blame for me before. It was my turn."

"That's nice of you, Ricky," their dad sais as he entered the hallway, "but Clicky tells me the truth. A lot of the features were broken, but the security cameras were not."

He showed them the video of Nicky, Dicky, and Dawn fighting in the living room while Ricky was in the kitchen.

"All right," their mom stated. "Nicky, Dicky, and Dawn- no TV for two months. One for breaking Clicky and one for trying to frame Ricky. Ricky, no TV for two weeks. I understand you wanting to help your siblings out, and it was nice of you to take the blame, even when you didn't need to, but it was not nice of you to lie to us."

"We're sorry," Dawn said.

"I know you are," Dad agreed. "But I hope this taught you some important lessons."

"It did," Dicky said, slinging an arm around Ricky's neck. "Number one being that our little genius always has our back. We should have his more often."

Ricky couldn't help but smile.

"Now," Ricky announced. "I made you two breakfast in bed. You guys want to help me get it?" he asked his siblings.

"Sure," Nicky said, and the four of them gave breakfast to their parents before heading back down stairs and sitting at the kitchen table.

"Don't look so down," Ricky told his dejected siblings. "You may have lost your TV time, but I made your favorite breakfasts."

He handed Dawn a plate of waffles and gave an omelet to Nicky and a breakfast burrito to Dicky.

"Thanks, but why?" Dawn asked as she grabbed the syrup.

"Well, I kind of expected you to lose your TV privileges, so I thought I'd have something to cheer you up afterward. I may have wanted the TV all to myself, but I didn't want you guys to be _too_ upset," Ricky said.

"Thanks for trying to take the blame," Dawn said. "You didn't have to do that."

"I know I didn't have to, but having your back is part of being your brother. Don't expect me to do it all the time, though!" Ricky laughed, and his siblings joined him.

"Next time you do something wrong, we'll have your back," Nicky promised.

"Count on it," Dicky agreed, making Ricky grin.

* * *

 _I know Ricky was OOC, but I was honestly having a hard time finding an ending for this chapter, so I decided to go with sibling bonding instead of the cliché fights they have in the show. Siblings fight 90% of the time, but there's some bonding and some comfort, too, and that's what I really wanted this story to represent. The mostly unexplored part of the Quads' relationship. They don't have much hurt/comfort in the show; it's more of a **I've got your back** thing in the show, which is good, but they don't really show the hurt/comfort that I would've liked to see from time to time._

 _Thanks for reading!_


	6. Of Fear And Comfort

_Here's chapter 6! I hope you enjoy!_

 ** _Disclaimer: I own nothing._**

 ** _WARNINGS: PANIC ATTACK_**

 **Summary:** we all know Ricky was afraid to go on the water slide. How did his siblings manage to get him on it?

* * *

 **CHAPTER 6: OF FEAR AND COMFORT**

 **Episode: Poo Dunnit**

* * *

The gigantic water slide loomed in front of Ricky, and the loud roars of the gushing water rattled his brain as he shook directly outside the entrance.

"Ricky."

Dawn's hand landed on his shoulder, making him jump and take a shaky breath.

"Ricky, you okay?" she asked.

"I'm scared," he admitted.

Nicky grinned, as though expecting him to say that (he probably did), and he said, "Come sit."

His siblings lead Ricky over to a short wall separating the grass from the sidewalk, and Ricky sat down while his siblings sat beside him- Dawn on one side of Ricky with Dicky on his other, and Nicky on the other side of Dicky.

"We know you're scared," Dicky said. "Now… why are you so scared?"

Ricky snorted. "Are you a therapist now?"

"Nope. We're just your siblings, and it's our job to help you conquer your fears," Dawn explained. "Now, why are you so scared?"

"Why shouldn't I be scared?" Ricky demanded. "It's a fragile wooden cart that hurtles down a seventy foot drop, takes several sharp turns, and makes several strange sounds as it climbs the huge hill. It's a wonder the poor cart doesn't fall apart, and it'll be just our luck that it does when we go on it, and-"

"Ricky," Nicky said, sternly. "You're going to send yourself into a panic attack if you don't calm down."

"It's too late for that," Ricky muttered as he began swallowing huge gulps of air.

Ricky didn't have panic attacks often, but he had them often enough to recognize the signs.

First, his chest tightened, and it became extremely hard to breathe, even though he was gulping down oxygen like a man who hadn't had a drink in days chugging water.

Second, the temperature seemed to shoot up several degrees, but despite the heat, he began to shiver, like he was in Antarctica without a coat.

Third, the nausea kicked in, and he would kneel over, waiting for the bile to come rushing out of his throat and onto the pavement, but it never did.

Forth, he would start crying, which would attract a lot of weird looks

Fifth, the thoughts would start up, racing through his mind, each one more frightening then the last.

Sixth, waves of apprehension would crash down on him, and most of all, he would be afraid that the fear would drive him crazy, which was kind of counter productive.

Seventh, he would feel dizzy and his legs would turn to jelly, and he'd have to lay down until it was over, lest his legs give out on him.

Eighth, he would be drowning in his own sweat, and his mouth be would be incredibly dry, but he was afraid he wouldn't be able to keep it down if he drank anything.

Ninth, he would feel like he was going to faint. Or die, if the panic attack was worse than usual.

Tenth, it would be over.

"One, two," Dawn sang.

Ricky turned to her as his chest tightened.

"What are you doing?" he asked, his curiosity overwhelming his panic for a brief moment.

"When you were younger and felt all panicky, Mom and Dad sang you one, two, buckle my shoe. When we were a little older, we put our own spin on it," Nicky explained.

"One, two, we're here for you," Dawn sang.

"Three, four, here come two more," Nicky and Dicky chanted.

"Five, six, when life kind of kicks," Nicky sang, making Ricky chuckle.

"Seven, eight, we'll never be too late," Dicky continued.

"Nine, ten, do it again," Dawn sang.

"One, two, we love you," they sang in tandem.

Ricky laughed. "Thanks, guys. I actually do feel better."

"Good," Dawn told him, "and we won't force you to ride the ride if you don't want to."

"Oh, no," Ricky said with a smile. "We're riding that ride. Come on."

His siblings grinned and followed him until they were sitting in the 'log,' and Ricky watched as the guy at the control desk pushed a button. With a jolt, they were off.

Ricky inhaled, deeply, as they began to climb, and he felt a hand on his shoulder. He twisted in his seat and found Dawn behind him, clutching his shoulder and smiling.

"Remember!" she called over the creaks and groans of the moving cart. "We're right here. We're not going anywhere."

Ricky laughed, weakly. "You better not. There's no where to go but down!"

Dawn chuckled, and Ricky turned around in his seat to see their height above the ground increasing, rapidly.

 _"One, two, we're here for you."_

Almost there...

 _"Three, four, here come two more."_

A few more feet...

 _"Five, six, when life kind of kicks."_

A few more seconds before the fall...

 _"Seven, eight, we'll never be too late."_

Here we go….

 _"Nine, ten, do it again."_

They reached the top...

 _"One, two, we love you."_

They tumbled over the top and plummeted downward. Ricky had his hands up the whole time, thinking BEST RIDE EVER!

* * *

 _I know some of you are probably thinking that song thing is pretty weird, but for a person with anxiety, the strangest things can calm them down. I have anxiety, and the weirdest things could calm me down during a panic attack, so while people without anxiety may not understand how that song was comforting to Ricky, but for most people with anxiety, they'll understand that everyone has their own way of calming down during or immediately after or before a panic attack, and sometimes other people see their methods as strange, but they are effective._

 _Thanks for reading!_


	7. Of Strawberries And Allergic Reactions

_Hello. Here's chapter 7!_

 ** _Disclaimer: I own nothing._**

 ** _WARNINGS: NONE_**

 **Summary:** Ricky has an allergic reaction right before they all dump food on each other.

* * *

 **CHAPTER 7: OF STRAWBERRIES AND ALLERGIC REACTIONS**

 **Episode: I Got Your Back**

* * *

"Also, you should try the strawberry pie," Nicky said, handing Ricky a plate and watching as the boy took a bite.

"It is good," Ricky agreed before frowning as Nicky snatched it back.

"Now that I know that you like it…" Nicky said, "you can't have any because you didn't have Dicky's back."

Ricky sighed, and Mr. Williams walked up to the table.

"I have the perfect punishment for you, Dicky," he said to the long haired quad. "You'll be scraping gum off of desks, including nose gum. That's boogers."

"I got it," Dicky replied, dejected.

Ricky couldn't take it anymore. His brother shouldn't have to suffer because he was being a coward.

"I did it," he cried, standing up.

"What?" Mr. Williams stated in a nasally voice as he turned his head.

"I called the tow truck," Ricky responded.

"I don't believe you," Mr. Williams returned.

"But I really did!" Ricky exclaimed. "Why won't you believe me?"

"Because you don't have it in you, Ricky," Mr. Williams sighed.

All of a sudden, Ricky's skin grew incredibly itchy, especially around his face, and when he started to scratch, the breathing problems started. It wasn't like a panic attack, where he was sucking in so much air, but still felt like he wasn't getting enough oxygen. No. This was different. This time Ricky _really_ _couldn't breathe._

Ricky coughed and sputtered as he continued scratching his face.

"Thanks for trying, Rick- Ricky, are you okay?" Dicky gasped.

The second oldest quad was coughing nearly nonstop, but he didn't seem to be inhaling between each cough, at least not noticeably so. The skin on his hands and face were turning an angry red color, and he looked swollen and slightly puffy.

"Oh my goodness," Nicky cried, prying open Ricky's mouth and looking for any obstruction in his airways.

There didn't look like there was obstruction, necessarily, but there was a dangerous amount of swelling.

"I think he's having an allergic reaction," Nicky said.

"To what?" Dawn questioned, racing over and placing a bowl of pudding on the table.

"Um, it has to be the strawberry pie," Nicky stated. "It's the only thing he took a bite of!"

"I'll call an ambulance," Mr. Williams assured them, his phone already in his hand.

"Sit down, Ricky," Dawn ordered, helping Ricky to sit in the nearest chair.

"Dawn," Ricky choked.

"Don't try to speak," Dicky commanded. "I need you to focus on breathing, okay?"

Ricky shook his head. "Can't," he coughed.

"Breathe in when I say one, and don't exhale until I say two," Dawn said as calmly as she could. "One…"

Ricky sucked in as much oxygen as possible.

"Two."

Ricky allowed the small amount of air he'd breathed in to slip out of his lips.

"Three."

Ricky wheezed.

"Four."

Ricky coughed.

"Five."

Ricky tried to breathe in, but nothing entered his lungs, and the combination of his breathing difficulties and his panic caused spots to dance across his vision.

"Ricky! RICKY!" Dawn's voice grew increasingly panicked. "Ricky, stay awake!"

Ricky wanted to, but he couldn't, so he slumped forward and felt his three siblings catch him in their arms before his vision went black.

* * *

Ricky came around slowly, and he blinked against the hard, intrusive light that invaded his vision.

"Ow," he rasped, feeling exhaustion ache in every part of his body.

"Ricky!" Dawn's unusually quiet voice murmured, and he felt three pairs of arms gently wrap around him.

"What happened?" Ricky asked.

"Oh, honey," his mom said as she leaned over and appeared in his vision. "You had an allergic reaction to strawberries."

Ricky blinked. "Oh, right… I'm okay, though?"

His mom nodded. "You're going to be just fine. You just need to rest."

"Before I do," Ricky muttered, "Dicky, I'm sorry I didn't have your back. Did Mr. Williams let you off the hook?"

Dicky nodded. "No detention for me or you. Mr. Williams decided to let you off the hook since it is your first offense, and he didn't feel right sticking a kid straight out of the hospital into detention."

Ricky nodded. "That's good. Mom, Dad, I'm sorry I didn't tell the truth."

"It's forgiven," Dad told him. "None of you are grounded or being punished. On one condition."

His mom smiled and smoothed back Ricky's hair. "We need to spend as much time together as we can."

Ricky nodded. "I'd like that."

"Us, too," Dawn agreed, and Ricky was pulled into another hug.

"We love you, Ricky," Nicky said. "Try not to scare us like that again, okay?"

Ricky nodded. "I'll try. I love you guys, too."

* * *

 _Thanks for reading! Goodbye, everyone!_


	8. Of Missing Friends And More Nightmares

_Hello, everyone! This chapter is a sequel to chapter one!_

 ** _Disclaimer: I own nothing._**

 ** _WARNINGS: NONE_**

 **Summary:** With their dog taken away, Ricky's nightmares return. The dog isn't there to comfort him, but luckily, his siblings are.

* * *

 **CHAPTER 8: OF MISSING FRIENDS AND MORE NIGHTMARES**

 **Episode: The Sad Tail Of Squishy Paws/Tiny Elvis/Chip/Gary**

* * *

"Wolf!"

Ricky spun around, and he started crying when he found himself in the dark place again.

Darkness stretched on for miles, but Ricky could still see. It was more like being in a huge black box than in a dark room; it's hard to explain, but the darkness, while unnerving, was not absolute.

"Chip!" he called.

Ever since Chip disappeared, Ricky had been even more anxious than usual. Chip always comforted him when he was anxious, and now that he was gone… Ricky was alone because he was too embarrassed to turn to his siblings or his parents, even though he knew they wouldn't judge him.

He should've known he'd have a nightmare when the time for bed arrived.

"Wolf!"

Ricky whirled around in a circle, searching for his furry little friend, but he couldn't find him.

"Chip! Gary! Tiny Elvis! Lord Timothy!" he called, rattling off every possible name for the dog. "Squishy Paws!"

"Wolf!"

Ricky turned and saw Chip standing a few feet away from him, staring at him with his big, adorable eyes.

"Chip!"

Ricky went to run towards him, but he found that he couldn't move his feet. He crumpled to his knees and reached out his hands, begging for Chip to come to him, but Chip didn't budge.

"Chip…" he whimpered.

That butler that was with the woman that took Chip appeared, and he picked up the dog, who didn't put up a fight.

"Chip…" Ricky murmured, his voice shaking. "Please don't leave me. You're my only friend that isn't in my family. Don't go…"

The Butler snorted. "Ha. You really thought he was your friend. He doesn't even like you."

Chip barked in agreement.

"Chip!" Ricky howled in emotional pain as the Butler and the dog disappeared.

"You ruined everything!"

Ricky spun around to see his three siblings standing behind him, glaring at him.

"You were so determined to call him Chip. I would've called him Tiny Elvis whether we agreed on it or not, no argument required," Dicky snapped.

"I was perfectly content with playing rock, paper, scissors, but no! You had to scream and fight," Nicky growled.

"If it weren't for you, Squishy Paws wouldn't have gotten taken away!" Dawn shouted. "Never speak to us again."

The three of them turned their backs on him and started to fade away.

Ricky managed to move his feet, but by the time he reached his siblings, he was grasping at empty air.

"No!" he cried, falling to his knees. "Please… don't leave me, too."

Ricky felt someone shaking him, and he glanced up to see the news woman glaring at him.

"You and your siblings may be the Horrible Harpers, but you're the worst of all," she hissed.

 _"Ricky."_

Ricky ignored the small voice growing louder in the distance and could only focus on the woman's words as he clamped his hands over his ears. Someone was shaking him more forcefully, but he assumed it was someone else who was angry at him.

"RICKY!"

* * *

Ricky gasped as he awakened, and he found himself staring into the eyes of his three siblings.

"Ricky, are you okay?" Nicky asked. "You were crying in your sleep and muttering _don't leave me, don't leave me."_

Ricky couldn't help but break down into sobs.

"Guys, I'm sorry I got Chip taken away. Please don't be mad," he whimpered.

Dawn blinked. "You? Ricky, we were all arguing. It wasn't just you."

"But Dicky wouldn't have cared about his name; no argument was necessary. Nicky suggested playing rock, paper, scissors, but I was too busy yelling at Dawn to listen to him; and Dawn would've come up with a great compromise if I would've let her think, and… please don't leave me, like the dog did."

Dicky sighed. "First of all, it was not your fault."

"We all contributed," Nicky added.

"And second of all, we will never leave you, and if Squishy Paws had a choice, he wouldn't leave you either," Dawn stated. "Now, I'm assuming your nightmare was about us leaving you?"

Ricky nodded. "Mostly. It was different than usual, which was why-"

"Wait," Nicky said. "You've had nightmares before?"

Ricky nodded. "A lot, but Chip always comforted me after one."

"Why didn't you tell us?" Dicky asked.

Ricky shrugged. "I guess I was embarrassed."

He should have expected it, but he was still caught off guard when his siblings suddenly embraced him.

"You can tell us anything. We won't judge you for it," Dawn assured him.

"And we're not leaving you," Nicky continued.

"Yep," Dicky smirked. "No matter what you do, you're stuck with us. Get used to it, little bro."

"I'm older than you," Ricky pointed out, "but thanks, guys. I really needed that…"

* * *

 _Not the best ending, but I still thought it was pretty good._

 _Thanks for reading! Bye, everyone!_


	9. What Christmas Is All About

_This is definitely one the sweetest chapters so far! Hope you enjoy it!_

 ** _Disclaimer: I own nothing._**

 ** _WARNINGS: NONE_**

 **Summary:** Ricky meets a poor, sick little girl while taking care of the kids at the 'elf' station and learns what Christmas is all about.

* * *

 **CHAPTER 9: WHAT CHRISTMAS IS ALL ABOUT**

 **Episode: Santa's Little Harpers**

* * *

Ricky glanced around at all the kids occupying the 'Drop Off Your Kids' play place or whatever it was supposed to be called.

Frankie and Randy were playing dinosaurs while Brandon swung his coiled rope and tipped his cowboy hat. Maria and Abigail were playing with dolls, and… there was another little girl sitting in the corner all alone.

She looked well behaved; she hadn't kicked anyone, so Ricky decided she would be the easiest kid to deal with.

He sat down beside her, causing her to glance up, and Ricky blinked.

She was horribly emaciated; he could count her ribs through her shirt, and her pants were almost falling off. She was deathly pale, paler than Ricky, which was an impressive feat, and he could see the blue veins underneath her skin. She was wearing a purple shirt that she was drowning in and a zip up hoodie over that; she was also wearing gray sweatpants and a winter hat. There were dark circles beneath her crystal blue eyes.

"What's your name?" he asked.

"Sarah," she replied.

"Well, Sarah, I'm Ricky. Do you want to play something?" he questioned. "We have dolls, jump rope…"

Her eyes sparkled. "Do you like puzzles?"

He smiled. "I love puzzles."

She withdrew one from a nearby shelf, and Ricky saw that it was one of the bigger puzzles, 300 pieces. Certainly not the biggest puzzle Ricky had ever done, but it was advanced for her age, which couldn't have been more than eight or nine years.

"You're like me," Ricky laughed. "When I was your age, I was always doing the bigger puzzles. My siblings never got into them, though."

"You have siblings?" she asked.

Ricky nodded. "Three. The other elves are my fellow quadruplets."

She nodded. "I have a little brother named Lucas."

A sudden beep caused Ricky to jump, slightly, and he watched her pull some kind of timer from her pocket.

"What's that for?" he asked.

"It's time for my medication," she replied. "My mom dropped them off at the front."

Ricky glanced at the podium and saw a few pill bottles on the shelf.

"I'll go get them," he told her and walked up to the front of grab the medication.

"Hey, Dicky," he greeted.

"Don't even try to trick me out of my post," he said, obviously thinking Ricky was there to try and get his own tips.

"I'm not. I just need these," Ricky told him, grabbing the bottles and reading the label.

Maybe it wasn't nice to snoop, but Ricky was genuinely curious. She was obviously sick, but with what? It looked like it was worse than the stomach flu.

Ricky had barely known her for ten minutes, but he cared for the little girl. It hurt to know that she was sick.

"Hey, Dicky. Could you use your phone to look up the medication _ambochlorin_?" Ricky asked.

Dicky nodded, pulling out his cell phone. "Sure."

Ricky grabbed a bottle of water and returned to Sarah's side, handing her the medication and the drink and watching as she swallowed the pills.

After she'd taken her medicine, her and Ricky continued to do the puzzle until Sarah's name was called.

The two of them glanced up and saw a woman holding a blonde two year old boy standing beside Dicky, obviously Sarah's mother and brother.

Sarah joined them, and she waved goodbye to Ricky as she walked away.

"Bye, Ricky! Thanks for doing the puzzle with me! I had fun!" she chirped before disappearing into the crowd.

Her mother lagged behind and handed Ricky twenty dollars.

"Twenty?" Ricky gaped. "I can't accept this tip, ma'am," he added, much to the surprise of Dicky.

"This is the happiest I've seen her since she got sick," the woman replied. "Thank you."

The woman walked away, and Dicky turned to Ricky.

"First of all, did you just try to turn down twenty bucks? Who are you and what have you done with Ricky?" he joked. "Second of all, that thing you had me look up is a chemotherapy drug, usually used to treat leukemia and lymphoma."

She had cancer…

Ricky nodded. "Thanks."

"So," Dawn said, walking over. "Twenty dollar tip? Looks like we'll be getting that Max box soon."

Ricky shook his head. "I'm sorry, guys, but I'm not using it for us."

"What? But we had an agreement!" Nicky exclaimed.

"I'm not using it for me either," Ricky told them. "Josie was right. Spreading Christmas cheer is more important than a Max Box."

His siblings gaped at him.

"Can you guys hold down the fort for a minute? I'll be right back!" Ricky had barely finished the sentence before running off, taking the sign in sheet with him.

Ricky quickly grabbed what he needed and paid for them before asking Josie to help him wrap it.

"Who are they for?" she asked. "Dawn?"

Ricky shook his head. "No. They're for a sick little girl that was at the Kid Station."

Josie grinned. "I see you're finally spreading some Christmas cheer."

Ricky nodded. "If anyone needs some Christmas cheer right now, it's Sarah."

Ricky thanked Josie and took the wrapped package to the presents station. At the presents station, you could send presents to people you couldn't deliver them to personally, like relatives or friends in another state.

Ricky jotted down the name Sarah Williams and the address written on the sign in sheet (addresses were given in the unlikely event of an emergency and the parents or parents couldn't be found in the store. Apparently that had happened one year) before dropping it into the box and heading back to the station.

"What was that all about?" Nicky questioned.

"I was sending a gift to someone who really needed it," Ricky said.

* * *

On Christmas day, Sarah Williams was back in the hospital with an IV sticked into her arm and a bandana covering her bald head.

Her mother entered the room with a box wrapped in green paper with little santas on it.

"Looks like someone sent you a gift," she said, handing her daughter the present.

Sarah frowned, wondering who would go out of their way to send her a gift, and tore open the wrapped paper.

The box of a 350 piece puzzle stared back at her, along with a teddy bear with the words Get Better Soon stitched across its tummy. A piece of paper was taped to the puzzle box, and she removed it to read it.

 **Sarah,**

 **I hope you get better soon. Enjoy the puzzle; when I was a little younger than you, I was in the hospital being treated for pneumonia, and this puzzle helped keep the crippling boredom away. I loved doing it over and over again, and it made me feel better and forget I was sick for a while, so I hope that it can bring you the same joy.**

 **I hope to see you around the store again, preferably healthy, so get better soon, and thanks for reminding me what Christmas is all about (if unintentionally).**

 **-Ricky Harper (Remember me? One of four quadruplets?)**

Both Sarah and her mother were extremely thankful for Ricky and his kind act because they both knew that Sarah hadn't been this happy since she got sick.

* * *

 _A bit of a cliché, but this is one of the cliché Christmas story ideas I can never get tired of because they're just so sweet and make me want to cry and I just love the idea._

 _Anyway, I hope you liked the chapter._


	10. Of Birthdays And Broken Bones

_Hello, readers! Chapter 10!_

 ** _Disclaimer: I own nothing._**

 **Summary:** Ricky breaks his arm when he goes into the sky diving simulator

* * *

 **CHAPTER 10: OF BIRTHDAYS AND BROKEN BONES**

 **Episode: The Quadfather**

* * *

"It's perfectly safe," Ricky assured his party guests. "Here: I'll show you."

Ricky stepped into the sky diving simulator and shrugged at his party guests to show the he was indeed alive before pressing the Start button.

Wind pressed against Ricky's sneakers, and he was sent hurtling into the air with a long scream. He shot straight out of the top of the simulator, and for a few brief, terrifying moments, he was falling.

Then, he hit the floor and experienced one of the worst pains he'd ever felt.

Everyone flinched at the loud crack that sounded, followed by a loud howl from Ricky as his arm burned with piping hot pain. He grasped his arm with his other hand, and he winced when he felt an uncomfortably warm sensation trickle down his skin. Blood.

"Ricky!"

He heard his mother's voice, but it was so distant. The pain was clouding Ricky's mind, making it hard to think straight.

A hand was on his shoulder, and Ricky whimpered as he tried to roll to the side and protect his arm.

"Ricky," Dawn murmured in his ear. "I know it hurts, but you need to let Mom and Dad see."

Ricky sobbed as he slowly removed his hand from where it was clutching his arm, protectively. He heard gasps and assumed that it looked just as bad as it felt.

Ricky glanced at the limb, and nausea assaulted his stomach.

His arm was twisted in a way that was definitely not normal, and a piece of the bone was jutting out of his skin. The narrow, but very deep, cut was the cause of the buckets of blood Ricky had felt streaming down his skin, and now that he was seeing the injury, there was even more blood than he'd thought.

His mom laid a jacket over Ricky's arm to hide the disturbing injury from view. The nausea decreased for a split second before another jolt of pain brought it back, and Ricky focused all of his energy on breathing and trying not to throw up.

Now he was kind of glad he had a small breakfast that morning. If he'd eaten anything big, he surely would've lost it by now, due to his spasming stomach.

He felt someone pick him up, and he was being carried out of the door. Ricky cried out, more in surprise than pain, and protected his arm with everything he had, which, in his weakened state, wasn't much.

"It hurts," Ricky gurgled, which were the first complete words he'd managed to choke out.

"I know," Dicky told him, "but it'll be okay."

* * *

The next few hours passed in a blur of fuzzy sounds, streaks of color, and episodes of nothing but black (which was when Ricky momentarily passed out).

Finally, Ricky's right arm was encased in a blue cast, and while the pain was still present, the pain killers the doctor gave him made him feel a bit better.

"Has your anti-nausea medicine kicked in yet?" Dawn asked.

It was just the Quads. Their mom was speaking with the doctor in the hallway, and their dad had returned to the store to clean up the party decorations, so Dawn, Nicky, and Dicky were gathered around Ricky's hospital bed.

Ricky nodded. "Yeah, why?"

Dawn took something out from behind her back and presented a slice of cake.

"Happy birthday, little bro," she greeted.

"By four minutes," Ricky said in a joking tone as he accepted the cake.

She giggled. "Sorry about your arm."

Ricky nodded. "What do you say we have _one_ big party next year?"

"Agreed!" Nicky exclaimed.

"Quadug!" Dicky cried.

"What?" Dawn, Ricky, and Nicky said.

"Quad… hug," Dicky clarified, causing his siblings to laugh and embrace each other.

* * *

 _Not my best chapter, but hey, they can't all be winners, and I'm sure some of you liked it, so I hope you were one of the ones that liked this chapter. Thanks for reading! Bye, everyone!_


	11. Of Locked Trunks And Claustrophobia

_This is a spin off of chapter 2._

 ** _Disclaimer: I own nothing._**

 ** _WARNINGS: PANIC ATTACK_**

 **Summary** : Ricky has a panic attack while him and Dawn are stuck in the trunk, and Dawn comforts him

* * *

 **CHAPTER 11: OF LOCKED TRUNKS AND CLAUSTROPHOBIA**

 **Episode: The Quad-Test**

* * *

"What was that click?" Ricky asked.

"That was Dad walking down the stairs," Dawn answered.

"No, the click before that," Ricky told her.

"Oh, that? He totally just locked us in."

Locked… in a tiny trunk… with no way out…

Ricky's breathing picked up, and his heart started thundering like a bass drum in his chest. Nausea rolled inside his stomach, and he started trembling, despite his excessive sweating.

"Ricky," Dawn murmured, softly. "Someone's going to find us soon. Until then, you just need to relax."

He shook his head. "I can't, Dawn. It's too small… I can't be trapped like this."

"I know you're scared," Dawn mumbled. "You wanna sing one, two?" she asked as she took his bear and placed it in his arms, watching as he squeezed it, seeking its comfort.

He nodded.

"All right, you'll sing the numbers; I'll sing the verses," she told him.

"One, two," Ricky muttered, his voice shaking like a leaf in the wind.

"We love you," Dawn picked up, rubbing his shoulder, which provided Ricky the comfort to stop shuddering, if only a little bit.

"Three, four," Ricky murmured.

"Here come two more," Dawn sang.

"I wish they were here," Ricky murmured, placing his head on his knees and sucking in a rattling wheeze.

"They will be soon. They'll notice we're gone, and they'll come looking for us," Dawn assured him. "You've calmed down a little. Keep singing."

"Five, six," Ricky squeaked, and he nearly cried in relief when he was able to draw in a full breath.

"When life kind of kicks," Dawn continued.

Ricky pressed a hand against his chest and felt it rise and fall with each full breath.

"Seven, eight," Ricky breathed, taking another deep breath.

"We'll never be too late," Dawn sang.

And Ricky would forever be grateful for that…

"Nine, ten."

His nausea was fading, and while the panic hadn't disappeared, it had decreased significantly.

"Do it again," Dawn whispered.

"One, two," Ricky inhaled.

The panic was almost gone, and it decreased even more when Dawn sang his favorite part of the song.

"We love you," Dawn finished. "Feeling better?"

Ricky nodded. "Much better."

"That's good," Dawn told him. "Let's call it quits with this Quad Test. It wasn't a good idea to begin with and look where it got us."

Ricky nodded. "I'm sorry I mocked you about Blankie."

"I'm sorry I mocked you about Lieutenant Blueberry," Dawn agreed.

"I love you, sis," Ricky told her, grateful that she was with them and that he didn't have face his claustrophobia all alone.

Dawn nodded. "I love you, too, and don't worry, dinner is in less than half an hour. When we don't show up, they'll come looking for us. If they haven't noticed already."

As if on cue, they heard muffled voices, and Ricky nearly sobbed with relief as he prepared to start banging against the lid of the trunk, but before he could, he heard his name.

"Ricky and Dawn are too prideful to give in by themselves, but I don't want Dawn to lose her game," Nicky was saying.

"Or for Ricky to lose his test," Dicky stated.

" _Fail_ his test, Dicky," Nicky corrected.

"Yeah. That, too," Dicky said. "So what's the plan?"

"We'll just put them on their bed, and they'll see they're being ridiculous," Nicky sighed.

"I'll unlock the trunk," their father volunteered, and Dawn and Ricky flinched at the harsh light that invaded the trunk.

"Ricky! Dawn!" their mother cried, and their parents and brothers helped them climb out of the trunk.

"Are you okay?" their mother asked Ricky, remembering his claustrophobia and wiping away his tears.

Ricky nodded. "I'm okay. Dawn was there for me."

"And Ricky and I decided that this Quad Test was a bad idea, so we're calling it off completely," Dawn announced, grabbing her old, faded pink (but very cherished and comforting) Blankie out of the trunk.

"Finally!" Nicky called. "Who wants soup?"

"Me!" Dicky cheered.

"Soup, soup, soup, soup!" the Harper family sing songed as they marched down the steps.

"Thanks for that, Dawn," Ricky said as he and his sister lagged behind.

"You don't need to thank me for helping you," Dawn told him. "I love you, Rick."

"I love you, too, Dawn."

Ricky was suddenly very thankful to be one of the Harper Quads, and even more grateful to have Dawn as his sister.

* * *

 _Some Ricky and Dawn bonding! I wish they had more of that in the show._

 _Thanks for reading! Bye!_


	12. Of Secrets And Support

_Hello. This is a much deeper chapter! You have been warned!_

 ** _Disclaimer: I own nothing._**

 ** _WARNINGS: SELF HARM, HOMOSEXUAL CHARACTER, GENDER FLUID CHARACTER (homosexual and gender fluid really shouldn't be warnings, but I'm just putting them here to be safe), MENTIONS OF BULLYING_**

 **Summary:** a deeper version of the Quadfession as the Quads tell each other their deepest secrets., the ones they can barely admit to themselves.

* * *

 **CHAPTER 12: OF SECRETS AND SUPPORT**

 **Episode: The Secret**

* * *

"So what is this deeper Quadfession?" Nicky asked.

"In this Quadfession, our secrets have to be deeper. I've been keeping something important, and I can't hide it for much longer," Dawn announced.

Ding! The mallet tapped against the symbol, and Dawn rested it on the table, taking a deep breath.

"I'm gender fluid," she said, quietly.

Ricky and Nicky's jaws dropped. Whatever they'd been expecting, it hadn't been that.

"What does that mean?" Dicky asked.

"Do you know what transgender is?" Dawn asked (I know they are not the same thing, but it's part of her explanation to Dicky).

Dicky nodded. "When someone identifies as a different gender than what they are physically."

"Well, gender fluid is… some days, I identify as a girl, but others, I identify as a boy," Dawn explained. "So I'm not transgender, but some days, I do identify as a different gender than what I am physically. Others, I identify as what I am biologically."

Dicky nodded. "Okay… but how did we not figure this out sooner? You think it'd be more obvious."

Dawn shook her head. "Being gender fluid, at least for me, is more what happens in my head. Some days, I dress like a boy; you know that, and most people would just think I was a Tom Boy. You probably did, too, but in my mind, I identify as a boy and not just as a girl who _acts_ like a boy. That's why it's not as easy to notice, especially since I'm not very open about it yet. You guys are the only ones I've told, unless you count Squishy Paws."

"And we won't judge you for it," Ricky assured her. "Who's next?"

"We'll just go in alphabetical order," Dawn suggested. "Dicky?"

Dicky inhaled, deeply, and lightly tapped the mallet against the metal circle.

"I like guys!" Dicky burst out, causing the jaws of his three siblings to drop.

"B-But you're always flirting with girls!' Ricky exclaimed.

"So no one finds out. I made everything think that I like girls so that they wouldn't find out," Dicky murmured.

"It's okay," Nicky said. "We don't care if you like girls or boys or both!"

"Do you like anyone right now?" Dawn asked, waggling her eyebrows.

"Yep. I like Alex," he said.

"Alex, that cute and really smart and athletic and all around perfect, but is still very nice, guy?" Ricky gaped. "Wow. You know how to pick 'em."

"I smell match making," Dawn sing songed. "But first, let's finish the Quadfession. Nicky, your turn."

Nicky sighed and tapped the symbol with the mallet.

"You guys know Luke?" he asked.

"Luke Marges?" Dawn questioned, and Nicky nodded.

"Well, he's been picking on me. Badly."

"Why didn't you tell us?" Dicky asked.

Nicky shrugged. "I tried to handle it on my own, but it didn't work very well."

"Well, don't worry. Tomorrow, we're going to handle him whether you want us to or not," Ricky said, firmly.

Nicky smiled. "I'm not sure if I want you to, but I'm glad you guys have my back."

"Ricky?" Dawn said, handing him the mallet and watching as the boy tapped it against the symbol.

"You guys know how I almost always wear long sleeves?" Ricky whispered.

His siblings nodded.

"Well, I wear them to hide this," Ricky murmured before pulling up his sleeves and displaying his forearms.

His brothers and sister gasped.

Scars stretched across Ricky's wrists. The oldest ones had probably been made a few months ago, and the newest probably weren't even a day old.

"Ricky… why?" Dawn muttered. "You could've talked to us."

Ricky nodded. "I know, but it was hard for me. You know that I've never been exactly good with emotions."

Dawn nodded. "We've all revealed our secrets. Now, here's our next mission: helping each other with our problems."

"I like that mission," Ricky said, and Nicky and Dicky agreed.

* * *

The following day, Dawn told Mae that she was gender fluid with help and support from her brothers.

Her next goal was to tell her parents, but that might take a while. Mae was a big step for her; you can't expect her to be able to tell everyone her deepest secret in one day.

…

Dawn, Ricky, and Nicky talked with Alex and found out he was bisexual (thankfully, Alex was quite open with his sexuality and had accepted it, and learning that helped Dicky be more open about his own sexuality, although he wasn't ready to fully come out of the closet quite yet).

Dicky asked Alex on a date after discovering he was bisexual, and Alex accepted, making Dicky happy.

…

Nicky isn't entirely sure what his siblings did about Luke, but either way, Luke never bothered him again. Although Nicky continues to deal with the trauma of the bullying, he's doing much better than he was.

…

Ricky didn't stop cutting immediately, but he significantly cut back on his self harm. Typically, he cut at least once a day, but within a month, he was only cutting once a week, and hopefully, he would continue to improve.

None of them were ready to expose their secrets or in other cases, hadn't fully healed from the damage their problems caused. But that's all right. After all, Rome wasn't built in a day...

* * *

 _A little angsty, but it had some comfort to balance it out._

 _I know Dawn and Dicky's secrets are a little far fetched, but this is an AU, and you can't always tell someone's sexuality or gender identity just by looking at them. And if they're insecure about it (even though they don't need to be), they sometimes act differently than they feel (like in this chapter, Dicky flirting with girls when he's just trying to hide the fact that he actually likes guys)._

 _Thanks for reading! Bye, everyone! Please review!_


	13. Of Exercise And Asthma

_Hello, everyone! I hope you enjoy chapter thirteen!_

 ** _Disclaimer: I own nothing._**

 ** _WARNINGS: NONE_**

 **Summary:** while exercising with Nicky and Dicky, Ricky has an asthma attack.

* * *

 **CHAPTER 13: OF EXERCISE AND ASTHMA**

 **Episode: Take The Money And Run**

* * *

 _Actually exercising_ was Ricky's last resort after Squishy Paws had kicked the step tracking devices off of his legs for the nineteenth time.

Dicky, Nicky, and Ricky groaned as they weakly jogged another few feet down the street.

"I don't understand why we have to exercise," Dicky muttered. "I mean, the amount of walking we do to get from one class to another is more than enough!"

"Oh, hey, look," Nicky panted. "Dicky actually made sense."

Dicky grinned before his smile dropped. "Hey!" he exclaimed when he comprehended the sentence.

"How many steps are you guys at?" Ricky asked.

Nicky checked, and a small beep sounded as he hit the button on the step tracking watch around his wrist.

"792," he murmured.

"800," Dicky replied.

"783," Ricky grumbled. "At this rate, we'll never reach Dad's goal of 10, 000. And that is a ridiculous goal by the way!"

"Actually, several people reach a healthy goal of 10, 000 steps a day," Nicky informed him.

"Yeah, but going from four hundred steps to ten thousand? I'd love to see someone do that," Ricky scoffed.

"I know someone who has," Dicky responded.

"You're not helping my complaining," Ricky said, and his hand traveled to his rapidly tightening chest.

It didn't feel like a panic attack. When Ricky had a panic attack, he was inhaling deep gulps of oxygen, but he didn't feel like he was getting enough air. This felt like he wasn't getting enough air _period_ , and upon trying to inhale, his suspicions proved to be correct when little air entered his lungs. This felt more like when he had an allergic reaction to strawberries a few months back, but this didn't come on quite as quickly as the allergic reaction had.

When Ricky exhaled, a long whistle sounded, drawing the attention of his brothers.

"You don't look so good," Nicky said. "Let's take a break."

Ricky nodded, thankful for Nicky's suggestion, and Dicky lead Ricky into the sporting goods store their parents owned (which they were luckily passing at the time). Ricky sat on a bench almost directly inside, and he put his head in his hands, feeling incredibly dizzy from the lack of oxygen.

Ricky sucked in a breath, and several chirps sounded as it struggled to slip down his windpipe and into his lungs. The exhale was much easier, but the loud, high pitched wheeze that sounded scared Ricky more than he'd liked to admit. He wasn't a doctor, but wheezing wasn't usually associated with good things.

"I'll go get you some water," Dicky offered.

"Find Mom or Dad or Dawn while you're at it," Nicky called after him. "Ricky, are you having a panic attack?"

Ricky shook his head. "This-" cough "-feels more like-" wheeze, wheeze, cough, wheeze "–that allergic reaction I had." Wheeze, cough, cough, choked gasp "Nicky, I can't breathe… at all."

When it became hard to speak and the pain in his tight chest screamed even louder, Ricky started to panic, and that only made his breathing problems worse.

"Okay, don't panic," Nicky murmured as calmly as he possibly could, given the situation. "Mom and Dad will be here soon."

"Nicky, Ricky, what's going on?" their mom demanded as she appeared at Nicky's side, shortly followed by their dad and sister and Dicky.

"Mom, Dad, there's something wrong," Nicky blurted. "This isn't a panic attack. He can't breathe at all."

"Okay, don't freak out. Let's take him to the hospital," their dad said. "Josie!" he called to the girl behind the juice counter. "Can you take care of the store until we get back?"

"Sure!" she shouted in return and watched in concern as Ricky wrapped his arms around his father's neck, and his father lifted the boy off of the bench, holding him close to his body much like he'd done when the Quads were still tiny toddlers.

Even at ten years ols, Ricky still looked excessively tiny in his father's arms as the man carried him to the van parked outside.

"Ricky, hang on, kiddo!" their father urged as he rested Ricky in the back seat and climbed behind the wheel while the rest of the family clambered into the vehicle.

Dawn laid Ricky's head in her lap, and she ran her fingers through his hair, wincing at every wheeze and rattling cough he gave.

"Ricky," she muttered as Ricky's eyes started to slip closed, exhaustion and oxygen deprivation dragging him down.

"Ricky!"

Dawn…

"Ricky, stay awake!"

He couldn't…

"Ricky, PLEASE!"

Ricky slipped into unconsciousness.

* * *

When Ricky came to, he found his entire family surrounding his hospital bed.

"Well, Ricky, I think you have officially set the record for the most hospital visits," his dad chuckled, softly.

"What happened?" Ricky asked.

"We just talked to the doctor. You have asthma, and the attack you had was caused by exercise," his mom told him before forcing something into his hand. "That's your inhaler. Keep it with you at all times, unless you want to end up back in the hospital."

Ricky laughed. "No, thank you. Thanks for helping me, guys, especially you, Nicky and Dicky… Now, when do I get out of here?"

His family couldn't help but laugh at that.

* * *

 _I personally didn't like the ending, but I think it was a good idea overall. Tell me what you thought! Thanks for reading, and please leave a review!_


	14. Of Protective Brothers

_Hello, everyone! This chapter offers some bonding between Dawn and the boys, and it delves a little deeper into the clueless, confused Dicky we see on the show and offers an alternative reason for his low IQ and involves his siblings caring for him and accepting him for the way he is._

 ** _Disclaimer: I own nothing._**

 ** _WARNINGS: NONE_**

* * *

 **CHAPTER 14: OF PROTECTIVE BROTHERS**

 **Episode: Piggy, Piggy, Piggy, and Dawn**

* * *

"So are we ever going to tell Dawn the truth?" Dicky asked.

The three male quadruplets were sitting in their bedroom. Dicky was sitting on the floor and leaning against Ricky's bunk while Nicky lounged on his own mattress above Dicky. Ricky was sitting on the floor and leaned against his desk with his ankles crossed and his arms resting on his lap.

Ricky barked a laugh. "No way! She'd never understand."

"So her being mad at us is better than telling her we were actually just being protective?" Dicky asked, clueless and confused.

"No," Nicky muttered, "but she'll be mad at us either way, so…"

"Why would she be mad at us for protecting her?" Dicky asked, more puzzled than ever.

Ricky sighed and sat up straighter to look Dicky in the eye.

"Dicky… Dawn doesn't like us butting into her life. We all know that. So if we tell her that we told Mac to back off because we didn't want to risk her getting hurt and not because of puppet rehearsal, she'll be mad because we butted into her life. She's already mad because we all voted against her. No reason to pour gasoline on that fire."

"But… doesn't gasoline make a fire bigger?" Dicky asked.

Ricky sighed. Dicky must be having a ' _bad_ ' day.

You see, Dicky was born with multiple learning disabilities, including ADD, dyslexia, and compression issues (and that was just the tip of the ice berg). To many people, Dicky was seen as a clueless but fun kid; he wasn't the brightest crayon in the box, but he made up for it in his wonderful personality. His family saw him the same way, but while others saw Dicky as dumb, his siblings and parents knew the truth. Dicky was smart, but he was slow, and that was okay. On his 'bad' days, though, when his learning and comprehension issues were particularly bad, it could take Dicky several minutes to comprehend a single sentence. His family didn't judge him for it; they didn't get irritated or fed up, like so many others did. They were very patient with him, and Dicky was very thankful for that.

"Yes, Dicky, gasoline makes a fire bigger. When I'm trying to say is that… Dawn is already angry. There's no reason to make her angrier. Telling her about us butting into her life would be like pouring gasoline on a fire and making it bigger."

"Wait… Dawn's on fire?!" Dicky exclaimed.

Ricky sighed before he helped Dicky stand and escorted the bewildered boy to his bed.

On Dicky's bad days, his brain became frazzled, and he became disoriented, frighteningly so. When Dicky was younger and it first started happening, their parents were worried he might be having seizures, but luckily, that wasn't the case. It was just a symptom of a mixture of learning disabilities that Dicky had. It was basically foggy brain taken to a whole new level, and rest was always the best medicine for it.

"Why don't you take a little nap, Dicky?" Ricky smiled as he helped Dicky lay down.

"Is he having one of his bad days?" a voice asked, and Ricky turned to see Dawn standing in the doorway.

Ricky nodded. "Yeah. He'll be okay after a nap, though, and he'll be even better after he takes his medication later tonight."

Ricky waited until Dicky had fallen asleep (which didn't take long. On his bad days, he was especially tired, which was another reason his parents believed that he was having seizures) before standing up and heading to his desk to do his homework.

"I heard," Dawn said, randomly.

Ricky frowned. "Heard what?"

"Your conversation. I didn't mean to ease drop, but… did you really yell at Mac to protect me and not because you were mad?" Dawn asked.

Ricky sighed before glancing at Nicky, who climbed down from his bunk.

Nicky nodded. "Yeah…"

"You didn't have to do that. Mac's a good guy," Dawn reasoned.

Nicky laughed. "Dawn, you could have a crush on the nicest person on the planet, and we'd still be protective of you. You're our sister. It's our job."

Dawn laughed. "I guess it is, but just so you know… I'm not mad at you for being protective of me. I'm not even mad about you butting into my life."

Ricky gaped. "You're not?"

Dawn shook her head. "I'm still mad that you keep voting against me and that you won't listen to me, but I'm not mad at you for being protective."

Ricky pursed his lips. "I can understand why you'd be mad about that… why don't we make a compromise? Instead of doing the classic fairy tales, why don't we combine them and make our own idea?"

Dawn nodded. "I'd like that."

"Goldilocks And The Three Little Pigs, it is!" Nicky exclaimed, quietly to avoid waking Dicky.

"We didn't even need voting," Ricky chuckled.

Dicky stirred. "What's happening?" he muttered, still disoriented.

Dawn sat on the edge of his bed. "Nothing, Dicky. You just try to get some rest, and when you wake up, we'll be right here to check on you. Oh, and guys?"

"Yeah?" Nicky replied.

"Thanks," she said. "Mac's a good guy, but it's good to know that if a bad guy ever comes along, you'll be right there to protect me."

"Quadug!' Dicky giggled, still foggy headed, but the disorientation was starting to wear off, and with more rest, it would disappear entirely within the next few hours. His siblings were grateful for that; it hurt to see their brother so confused, like he barely knew where he was. Luckily, the disorientation rarely lasted longer than a few hours.

The siblings embraced.

"You're the best little brothers I could ask for," Dawn said, and for once, Ricky didn't point out that he was only younger by four seconds.

"Well, you're the best sister we could ask for," Ricky stated. "It only seemed fair that we did something for you after all you do for us."

* * *

 _Dicky does not have a learning disability on the show (or at least they never revealed that) and what happened to Dicky with the disorientation and such does not happen to every kid with learning disabilities; in fact, it probably doesn't happen to the majority of them. I've had what happened to Dicky happen to me (I don't have a learning disability, though. I have a hard time comprehending stuff sometimes, and when you combine that with my anxiety, it caused that frazzled brain, disorientation episode that Dicky had, but I kind of shaped that to fit Dicky). I just thought I was an interesting idea that could apply to Dicky and would help bring some extra sibling bonding into the story._

 _Thanks for reading! Bye, everyone! Please review!_


	15. Of Abuse And Trust

_This is a more... sensitive... chapter than usual. You have been warned._

 ** _Disclaimer: I own nothing._**

 ** _WARNINGS: ABUSE_**

 **Summary:** What if there was another reason the Quads didn't want Tanya to babysit them?

* * *

 **CHAPTER 15: OF ABUSE AND TRUST**

 **Episode: Quad-ventures In Babysitting**

* * *

"Text Josie," Dawn hissed to Dicky. "Or Mom or Dad or someone!"

The four children were hiding in the closet under the stairs. They were all covered in bruises and scratches, and terrified expressions were plastered across their faces.

Creak! The sound of her knee popping made them jump.

Tanya had been babysitting the kids for a few months now, and after the first week of having the job, she started hurting the kids. Punching, kicking, hitting them with her cane. She'd make them do chores until the cleaning chemicals had nearly worn their skin off completely. One of her worst 'punishments' (although they weren't sure what she was punishing them for since they hadn't done anything wrong) was making the kids eat food so revolting, they'd throw it right back up. If she was feeling especially cruel, she'd make them eat their own vomit.

To everyone else, Tanya looked like a sweet, innocent, old lady, but the quadruplets knew the truth. Just because she was old didn't mean she was sweet.

The Quads had wanted to tell their parents, but Tanya had laughed in their faces when they threatened to do so.

"Your parents wouldn't believe you," she had said. "They'd think it was just a mean plot to get me fired, and trust me, you'll regret ever opening your big mouths. Get the picture?"

The Harper kids had nodded before running to hide from the frightening woman.

They'd never even _thought_ of trying to tell their parents again.

But after getting her fired (and replaced by Josie), Tanya was mad. Really mad.

Her cane pounded against the wall, making all four of them leap a foot in the air.

"They're not answering," Dicky whimpered.

" _Call_ Mom and Dad," Dawn murmured.

"You better come out of hiding, you rotten little kids, or any leniency is thrown out the window!" Tanya shouted.

"They're not picking up," Dicky sobbed.

"Try Josie!" Ricky ordered before his lips began moving rapidly in the form of a desperate prayer.

Dicky dialed the number…

"Josie!" he exclaimed.

"Dicky?" she asked, alarmed when she heard the genuine fear in his voice. "What's wrong?"

"Tanya… there was a reason we didn't want her as our babysitter anymore, but we couldn't tell Mom and Dad, so we made up some other excuses, but Josie… when she gets mad, she-"

Dicky didn't get the chance to finish because the door flew open to reveal Tanya herself.

Dicky dropped the phone, and it clattered to the ground as Tanya grabbed Dawn by the hair and yanked her out of the closet.

Dawn howled as the cane came crashing down on her back and arm, and Tanya even managed a whack to the stomach, causing Dawn to double over.

"Leave her alone!" Ricky cried, trying to stop Tanya from harming his sister. His brothers weren't far behind.

"You'll get your turn," she snarled before throwing Ricky to the ground and kicking him so hard in the ribs, they heard a loud crack, followed by Ricky wailing in agony. She elbowed Nicky in the face so hard, he saw double, and the boy stumbled back, tripping over the coffee table and falling to the ground in a daze.

Dicky got the worst of it when Tanya picked him up and threw him into the wall beside the door, where Dicky sunk to the floor with a groan.

Tanya resumed beating Dawn until the girl was in too much pain to move, and when she was done with Dawn, she started on Dicky, giving him a harsh beating (but not nearly as harsh as the one she gave Dawn. She was always harder on Dawn and Ricky than the other two boys for some reason). After Dicky came Nicky, and his siblings winced when they heard a few cracks as the cane fractured (and possibly broke) a bone.

Finally, she came to Ricky. Her cane connected with his collar bone, and Ricky let loose a blood curdling scream as his collar bone broke. Tanya didn't stop, though. She kept beating the boy; the abuse went on for several minutes, as it had for his brothers and sister, when the door opened.

"Tanya!" their mother cried as Josie and their parents walked in the door.

Tanya dropped her cane and straightened up.

"Mrs. Harper!" she cried, all color draining from her face.

* * *

Tom called the police, and they came to pick Tanya up, but there was still another task. Comforting their traumatized children as the broken (physically and mentally) kids laid in their hospital beds.

"Kids, why didn't you tell us?" Anne asked, tears filling her eyes. She couldn't stand the thought that her babies had been abused for months, and she'd had no clue.

"We didn't think you'd believe us," Dawn whispered.

"Of course we would've believed you," their father said, and tears began to trickle down his cheeks. "If even for a _second_ , there was even a _chance_ that you were in danger, we would've done something."

"You're our babies. It's our job to protect you, and the thought that Tanya could've killed you hurts me more than anything," Anne murmured before the family hugged.

When the parents finally pulled away, Anne turned to Josie, who was standing in the corner of the hospital room.

"Josie, would you be their babysitter again?" she asked.

Josie nodded. "Of course."

"At least we know that you won't hurt our kids," Anne whispered, brushing aside some of Dicky's hair and kissing Ricky's forehead. Tom wrapped one arm around Dawn and another around Nicky, as if trying to protect them, even though the threat that was Tanya was gone.

Josie nodded. "If there's one thing I can promise you, it is that I would never even _think_ of hurting these kids."

* * *

 _I like this chapter. The abuse makes it sad, but the ending was sweet, especially the final line, but that's just my opinion. Let me know what you thought in the reviews! Thanks for reading! Bye!_


	16. Of Leukemia And The Love Of Family

_Hello, everyone. This is a STAND ALONE. It is not connected with any of the other chapters._

 ** _Disclaimer: I own nothing._**

 ** _WARNINGS: CANCER (I'm not sure if that's a warning, so...)_**

 **Summary: The Harpers are thrown for a loop when Ricky is diagnosed with leukemia**

* * *

 **CHAPTER 16: OF LEUKEMIA AND THE LOVE OF FAMILY**

 **Episode: MD Day**

* * *

"Doctor, why have you called us here today?" Anne asked. "I thought we weren't welcome back."

Nearly a week had passed since the Harpers had visited the doctor, and after what happened with Anne and Tom and the Sticker Incident, they weren't welcome at this doctor's office anymore, so Anne was very surprised to get a call from the doctor, asking for her and her son Ricky to meet with him.

Anne and Ricky were sitting aide by side in the chairs in front of the doctor's desk. They both looked a little nervous (but neither could have predicted what the doctor would tell them).

The doctor sighed. "Originally, you weren't, but… this meeting is not about your status as patients at this doctor's office. It's about your son's health."

Both of them froze. They'd expected something along those lines, but nothing could've prepared them for it. Anne gripped Ricky's hand, tightly.

"As you know, during Ricky's exam, you reported fatigue and nausea and nose bleeds, which gave us a reason to perform a blood test. While many children have these symptoms while they are growing and developing, we wanted to make sure your son didn't have any diseases, but… I'm afraid he has one."

Anne and Ricky sat in silence as the doctor continued. Tears streamed down Anne's face, and Ricky inhaled, sharply, as he clung to his mother's side, not wanting to accept the truth.

"After a thorough examination of Ricky's blood, I'm sorry to tell you, but… Ricky has leukemia."

* * *

"What's going on?" Tom asked after his wife called a family meeting. Alarm crept into his voice upon seeing her red, tear filled eyes.

"Ricky, what's wrong?" Dawn asked. She and Nicky and Dicky were sitting on the sofa while Tom stood beside Anne, who was barely holding it together, and they hadn't even told them yet. Ricky was sitting in the arm chair his parents were standing beside.

"As you all know, the doctor called for Ricky and I to… to come meet with him," Anne sniffled. "He told us that they found something on Ricky's blood test."

"What is it?" Nicky demanded as worry shadowed the three siblings and their father, who were presently in the dark.

Anne broke down into tears, and she couldn't continue, so taking a deep breath, Ricky blurted out the truth.

"They told me that I have way too many white blood cells to be healthy," Ricky said. "I'll need treatment for it."

"Ricky, what are you saying?" Dicky asked, but the three of them had their suspicions. They were just praying that they were wrong.

"I'm saying that…" Ricky swallowed a sob. "I have leukemia… I have cancer."

You could've heard a pin drop for a brief moment before several things happened at once.

Tom broke down into sobs. He wanted to comfort his wife and children, especially Ricky, but his own grief was too much. The possibility of losing a child… it hut more than words can express.

Anne buried her face in her husband's chest and cried her heart out while her children stared at each other. None of them seemed to know how to react.

Everyone expected Dawn to be the first to recover from her shock, but it was actually Nicky, who wiped his eyes and stood. He approached Ricky and drew him into a huge hug.

Dicky and Dawn soon joined the embrace. All three of them were trying to hold in their tears.

It's not that they were ashamed to cry or that they weren't scared. No. Ricky needed them to be strong. Their parents were falling apart, and Ricky hadn't even begun his treatment yet. Their children didn't judge them for that; after all, they could be losing a child. No parent would take that well.

But if their parents couldn't be strong for Ricky, his siblings had to be. Their hurt and fear was unbearable, but Ricky needed a shoulder to cry on right now. He needed someone to lean on, and he needed someone to reassure him that everything would be okay. Even if that wasn't true and they had no way of knowing that for sure, it always felt good to hear it.

Basically, Ricky needed them now. They needed each other.

Ricky dissolved into tears, unable to hold in his sobs any longer, and his siblings refused to let him go.

"I'll be okay, Ricky," Nicky murmured.

"How do you know that?" Ricky demanded.

"I don't," Nicky admitted. "But when it's all okay and when it's not, we will always love you. Cancer will take a lot away from you; I'm not going to lie to you about that. But it will never take us, okay?"

"We will always be here for you," Dicky agreed.

"Having and treating cancer will not be easy," Dawn told him. "But we'll be there. Every step of the way. I promise."

A small bark sounded, and Ricky glanced down to see Squishy Paws sitting at their feet and staring up at him. The dog placed one paw on Ricky's leg and rubbed his head against Ricky's knee, as if to agree with Ricky's siblings.

"We're not going anywhere," Tom said, wiping his eyes as he wrapped an arm around Ricky's shoulders.

"We love you," Anne finished, joining in the embrace.

And suddenly, the thought of the harsh treatment, the torturous disease, the fear of dying… it didn't seem to hurt as much. Because even if he was sick, weak, and terrified, at least he didn't have to fight this battle alone. Even in his darkest hour, he would always have his family, and while it didn't take the pain away, it did make it hurt a little bit less.

"I love you, too," Ricky whispered.

Ricky decided right then that he would not give in that easily. He had a family, one that he wanted to love and have fun with and make memories with for years to come. He would not go down without a fight. He had something to live for…

And he wouldn't let cancer take that away from him.

* * *

 _I did like this chapter, but just would still like to know what you thought of it! Please review!_

 _Thanks for reading!_


	17. Of Lost Brothers And Disappearing Acts

_The show never really went into detail about what happened to Ricky when he disappeared at Oscar's partt, so that's what I decided to do for this chapter._

 ** _Disclaimer: I own nothing._**

 ** _WARNINGS: NONE_**

 **Summary:** What happened to Ricky after his disappearing act at Oscar's party?

* * *

 **CHAPTER 17: OF LOST BROTHERS AND DISAPPEARING ACTS**

 **Episode: Abraquadabra**

* * *

Ricky blinked, and when he opened his eyes, it was very dark.

"Hello?" he called, stretching his arms out ahead of him in search of a door or something.

His hands met wood, and he pushed outward, grinning as he found himself backstage.

"Awesome!" he muttered before checking his watch. He still had eight minutes; why not poke around in the magic stuff for a few minutes?

Ricky opened a box on a nearby table and stared into it before smiling as he recognized this trick. He'd preformed it himself a few times (and was getting better, although he had a long way to go before it was successful).

It was an illusion where the box was bigger than it looked, so you could fit huge things into a box that looked like it could barely contain a few textbooks!

Ricky climbed onto the table and dropped into the box.

Ricky fumbled in the darkness for several moments before his hand finally met wood, and when he pushed on that wood, he found himself exiting a cabinet on the opposite side of the room from the box.

"That was cool!" he exclaimed before opening a nearby wooden chest and crawling into it.

Ricky stared at the darkness surrounding him before pushing on the top of the chest and crawling out… of a hole in the floor in the center of the room.

"I have got to learn how to do that!" he chuckled before walking into another cabinet.

"Ricky!"

"Nicky?" Ricky called upon hearing his brother's voice, and he started walking further into the magical cabinet, searching for an exit.

"Ricky?"

"Dicky!" Ricky yelled, still stumbling in the darkness that was starting to suffocate him.

It took a few minutes, but Ricky finally located the exit, and he stepped out into the backstage, expecting to see his fellow quadruplets searching for him.

The back stage was empty.

Ricky shrugged and strolled into another cabinet after checking his watch. He had time to check out one last trick…

It didn't take Ricky nearly as long to find the exit, and he leaned against the door. He expected it to take a little effort to open, but after Ricky had put the slightest amount of weight on it, the door swung open, and Ricky found himself face planting on the stage in front of all of the party guests.

"Oh, thank goodness!" the nearby magician exclaimed. "I didn't lose the kid!"

"Well, technically, you did," Ricky pointed out, just to humor the magician. "But I found my way back out! Now, I have questions."

"Uh, kid, I-"

"You lost me during a poorly preformed magic act," Ricky said, simply.

"…What questions do you have, young man?" the magician chuckled, nervously, and Ricky eagerly rattled off one question after another, barely pausing to breathe.

"Um…" the magician muttered. "Yes, yes, no, yes, maybe, yes, forty-two! Goodnight!"

The man disappeared behind the curtain.

"These weren't even yes or no questions!' Ricky called, but the man had already vanished.

Ricky checked his watch and jolted at seeing the time. He was nearly ten minutes late. His siblings weren't at the party anymore, so he assumed they'd rushed home to cover for him until they located their lost/magically vanished brother. He just hoped that they could buy him a little more time.

Luckily, Oscar's party wasn't far from the Harpers' house, so Ricky didn't have to sprint that far before arriving home.

His bedroom window was open, thankfully, and in a stroke of good luck, their father had left the ladder out while cleaning the gutters earlier that day.

Ricky approached the ladder, and he barely swallowed a scream when he saw a body in the bushes… one that looked a lot like him!

Ricky poked it and sighed in relief when he felt wood beneath his finger. It was just a vaguely creepy statue. Thank goodness…

Ricky clambered up the ladder and squinted against the bright light of his bedroom, a huge contrast to the darkness of the night that existed outside of their well lit house.

He could hear voices outside the door.

"You don't need to go in there!" Dawn was shouting.

"Seriously!" Nicky added, and the door slowly began to open, his siblings entering the room. Their backs were facing him, and Ricky could see his suspicious parents over their shoulders.

Ricky threw back the covers and collapsed onto the mattress, hurriedly pulling the blankets over his head.

Seconds later, they were whisked back by his parents, who quickly apologized and exited the room.

"How did you do that?" Dicky asked.

"A great magician never reveals his secrets," Ricky chuckled.

"Dad left the ladder out when he was cleaning the gutters, didn't he?" Dawn asked.

"Yes, he did," Ricky replied.

Dawn mentioned going to get Cosmo (which Ricky assumed was the statue in the bushes) before their parents found him, but when she opened the door, her parents were standing before her.

"Ricky," their father said. "Josie stopped by to give you this. You dropped it in the vanishing cabinet at _Oscar's party."_

Ricky paled as he was caught.

"You think I could pull off another disappearing act?" he whispered to Dicky and Nicky.

* * *

 _This was more of a funny chapter than anything else. Hope you enjoyed it, and please leave a review. Thanks for reading! Goodbye, everyone!_


	18. Of Injuries And Bullies

_Hi. This chapter isn't that good, in my opinion. I wasn't sure what to do for this episode, so I kind of made it up as I went along... I hope you still enjoy it, though!_

 ** _Disclaimer: I own nothing._**

 ** _WARNINGS: BULLYING, MINOR VIOLENCE_**

 **Summary: Will Millbank beats up Ricky, and his family is there for him.**

* * *

 **CHAPTER 18: OF INJURIES AND BULLIES**

 **Episode: Family Matters**

* * *

Ricky knew the Millbanks were scary competitive and that the first grader was downright mean, but he didn't know the kid with the glasses could be so cruel!

They were currently taking a break from games, and as soon as the break began, the Harpers separated and bolted for different rooms, trying to get as far away from their house guests as possible. The majority of his family ran upstairs, but when the first grader jumped at Ricky, Ricky ran in the opposite direction and wound up in the kitchen.

Ricky took a sip of his water and patted Squishy Paws on the head; he glanced up when the door opened, and he tensed upon seeing Will Millbank standing in the doorway.

"Will," Ricky swallowed. "What's up?"

Will smirked. "What's up… is you being scared of me."

Ricky stammered. "What are you talking about? I'm not scared of you," he replied as Will took a few steps forward. "A little creeped out right now, but I'm not scared!"

"Yeah, right," Will snorted, painfully prodding his finger into Ricky's chest and towering over the boy. "You're terrified. I can smell your fear, kid."

"First of all, you're… what? Two years older than me," Ricky muttered, pushing Will's hand away. "And smell my fear? Just when I thought you couldn't get any creepier."

Ricky yelped as Will grabbed him by the front of his shirt and lifted him off his feet.

"What did you just say to me?" Will demanded.

"Um, nothing!" Ricky cried out. "Now, can you put me down? You're starting to hurt me."

Will smirked. "Oh, I'm just getting started."

Will shoved Ricky into the island and yanked Ricky's head back by his hair before pouring Ricky's full glass of water all over Ricky's face. Ricky sputtered, unable to straighten his head and allow the water to drip off of his skin. For a brief moment, the water pouring over his face made him feel like he was drowning.

Squishy Paws leaped onto Will's back, momentarily distracting the older boy.

Will released his hair, and Ricky didn't waste a second before wiping his face with his shirt sleeve. Will dropped the dog to the ground before turning back to Ricky.

Ricky didn't even have time to remove his arms from his face before Will started beating him. Punches rained down, and kicks were sent into his ribs until Ricky was on his knees, clutching his burning stomach and ribs.

"What did I ever do to you?" Ricky managed.

Will didn't answer him as he smirked before stomping on Ricky's wrist. An audible crack sounded, one that could be heard in the living room, followed by Ricky's pained scream.

The door burst open, and his family was at his side in an instant. Ricky whimpered as he cradled his broken wrist close to his chest.

"What was that for?" Dawn yelled at Will.

"William," Mr. Millbank snapped. "I thought we told you to handle those anger issues. I am so sorry, Tom. William, you are grounded! No phone, no TV, no parties, no competitions or music, nada!"

"For how long?" Will demanded.

"Until you enter high school!"

"That's almost two years!"

"You should've thought of that before you beat up Ricky! Now, go wait in the car!"

Will grumbled as he exited the house.

"Tom, we will be more than happy to pay for any hospital bills," Mrs. Millbank rushed to say.

Tom sighed. "Please. Just leave."

"Tom-" Phil began.

"Please. Get out of my house before I do something I regret."

Phil nodded and him, along with his son and daughter, left the house.

Mrs. Millbank sighed and rested a stack of cash on the table.

"I know money doesn't make up for what happened, hut I hope it'll help you pay for his hospital bills," she murmured before departing the Harper home.

Tom picked Ricky up and carried him to the car while Ricky's siblings followed close behind.

Ricky sat in the car, clutching his wrist to his chest; the pressure of one hand around his broken wrist helped ease the pain, slightly, but tears still trickled down Ricky's face.

Dawn handed Ricky an ice pack she'd grabbed while their dad was carrying him to the car, and Ricky held it against his burning wrist.

"I knew the Millbanks were competitive, and I knew Phil Jr. was a little mean, but I didn't think any of them would do this," Nicky muttered.

Ricky nodded. "I didn't either," he said through gritted teeth. "I don't even know why he was so mad."

"Well, it doesn't matter," Anne said. "We're never seeing any of them again."

"If they even cross our doormat, we'll charge that Will kid with assault," Tom added.

"No one messes with our kids," Anne said. "No one."

Ricky smiled. "Thanks, guys."

"No need to thank us," Nicky smiled before pulling an index card out of his pocket. "Now, I have been to the hospital ten times, not including the day I was born. Dawn has been fourteen times. Dicky has been twelve times. And including his hospital visit for today, Ricky has been fifteen times. So you're leading by one."

"You're keeping track?" Tom asked.

"Oh, yeah," Nicky chuckled. "I've been keeping track since Ricky had that allergic reaction."

Ricky laughed, and his siblings soon joined in.

Man, he had a wonderful family.

…And he'd never forget that. They reminded him of that everyday- in different ways and not even knowing they were doing it, but they reminded him.

* * *

 _ *****END OF PART I: SEASON 1*****_

* * *

 _This is the last chapter for this week! I will TRY to update at the end of every week, but I cannot make any promises. I post one season at a time. Chapter 18 concludes season 1, so chapter 19 will be the start of season 2. I will try to post season 2 next week, but I can't make any promises because season 2 is longer than season 1._

 _Thanks for reading! Goodbye, everyone! Please leave a review!_


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